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UN Chief to honor Indian peacekeeper with top military award
Sen is the second Indian peacekeeper to receive this award after Major Suman Gawani who was a co-recipient for 2019.
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Major Radhika Sen serves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo / UN
Indian military peacekeeper, Major Radhika Sen is set to receive the 2023 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award. The award will be presented to her by UN Secretary-General António Guterres during a ceremony marking the International Day of UN Peacekeepers on May.30.
The award recognizes Sen's service with the United Nations Organization Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). She served in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from March 2023 to April 2024 as the Commander of MONUSCO’s Engagement Platoon for the Indian Rapid Deployment Battalion (INDRDB).
In a volatile environment where many individuals, including children and women, were abandoning everything to flee the conflict, Sen oversaw mixed-gender engagement patrols and activities. Collaborating with her Mission colleagues, she utilized the Community Alert Networks she assisted in establishing in North Kivu as a forum for women, community leaders, and youth to express their security and humanitarian concerns.
She quickly became a role model for both female peacekeepers and her male counterparts, having helped foster a safe environment for men and women to work together under her command as platoon commander. Furthermore, she ensured that the peacekeepers operating under her supervision adhered to socio-cultural and gender-sensitive norms in eastern DRC in order to foster confidence and increase the likelihood of success for her team.
Aside from health, gender, and vocational education for displaced and marginalized adults, Sen facilitated English classes for children. She promoted gender equality by urging the women of the Rwindi town-area village of Kashlira to form a collective to solve problems, fight for their rights, and raise their voices in community conversations, especially those about peace and security.
Praising Sen for her service, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “Major Sen is a true leader and role model. Her service was a true credit to the United Nations as a whole,” he said. “In an escalating conflict environment in North Kivu, her troops actively engaged with conflict-affected communities, including women and girls. She earned their trust (…) doing so with humility, compassion, and dedication.”
Upon receiving news of the award, Sen expressed her gratitude for being selected and reflected on her peacekeeping role, “This award is special to me as it gives a recognition to the hard work put in by all the peacekeepers working in the challenging environment of DRC and giving their best to bring a positive change in the society,” she said. “Gender-sensitive peacekeeping is everybody’s business – not just us, women. Peace begins with all of us in our beautiful diversity!”
Created in 2016, the United Nations “Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award” recognizes the dedication and efforts of an individual military peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Sen is the second Indian peacekeeper to receive this award after Major Suman Gawani who was a co-recipient for 2019. Other past honourees were from Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
India is currently the 11th largest contributor of women military peacekeepers to the United Nations with 124 now deployed.
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